Music Genre

 A music genre is a conventional catagory that identifies a particular style of music. Music is divided into different genres in a varity of ways,  for example if drums and guitars are a dominate feature in the song/music clip then they would fall under the genre of rock/indie, whereas if there was a smooth vocal arrangement along with dance styled beats it would fall under the R&B category. Instruments and vocals are one way of identifying a genre.

Moreover the bigger genres such as rock are now divided into smaller subgenres. Subgenres are a 'watered down' version of that particular genre, in other words its when a style of music develops into something slightly more different but it still follows some codes and conventions but not all of them. Sub genres of rock are 'alternative rock' which includes bands such as 'Nirvana' and 'The Cure'.

Below are some examples of different genres...

Rock

Classic Rock- The Beatles- Paperback Writer 1966

Classic rock is often described as the music period from the 1960's to the 1970's, this is because many important bands existed during this time had a profound effect on the whole genre of rock music, in particular the Beatles.

This song is from the 'Revolver' sessions in 1966, and is representative of the music scene at the time the Beatles and many other bands were going though a a change in style moving towards a psychedelic sound, which would define the mid 60's; for example the chanting of 'Frere Jacques' by John Lennon and George Harrison behind Paul McCartney's story of a struggling writer adds a strange child like twist to the song which would have created a 'trippy' effect to it's listeners.

Despite the lyrical content the instrumentation in the song utilises a classic Chuck Berry-esque  rock and roll lick on the guitar which makes this song a perfect example of classic rock as it mixes the two defining sounds of the genre together at the genre's strongest point in time.

Above is an music clip of The Strokes. They are a classical example alternative rock which is a sub genre. The main difference is that the use of guitar slightly changes to a more uplifting and lighter sound. 




Hip/Hop

Classic Hip/Hop- Public Enemy- Don't Believe The Hype

Classic Hip/Hop really became mainstream in the 1980's. At that time hiphop became popular due to its catchy lines and upbeat music. This song was released in 1988 and follows all of the conventions of the genre at that era. Moreover hip hop culture was taken over in america as they found a new way to protest about politics through music. Don't believe the hype is about political issues current at the time of release.










 







The video above is Kanye West Feat Jamie Foxx- Golddigger. This is a typical modern day hip hop song as the beat is more dominate than the older songs of that genre. More over the topics of songs focus more an wealth and luxury.